


Little Red Ribbon

by hollandmarie



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, let me know if i effed up lore or anything im new here, mostly just musings really, musings on the red ribbon favor, please cut me some slack i don't really know what i'm doing, set during act three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:55:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7903861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollandmarie/pseuds/hollandmarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had bought it on a whim one day in Hightown, not long after her year of service to Athenril was complete and she felt like treating herself. It was a simple red ribbon, to tie in a bow around her hair- she told herself she would grow it out, once they had reclaimed their family's honor and manor. But life always seemed to get in the way- or, rather, her bangs did. And so the ribbon lay unused and forgotten as the time flew by.</p>
<p>	I just have a lot of emotions about these two okay? Musings on the favor when you romance Fenris. Takes place during act 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Red Ribbon

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I'm still new to posting on here- I'm still used to uploading to ff.net so cut a girl some slack, yeah?  
> Feel free to let me know if I futzed up some lore or anything- I've only been in this fandom about two months, and I just finished DA2 last week, so, uhm, I don't know everything.  
> Also, still trying to get a feel for the characters. Just. I apologize in advance for just about everything here. Sorry.

She had bought it on a whim one day in Hightown, not long after her year of service to Athenril was complete and she felt like treating herself. It was a simple red ribbon, to tie in a bow around her hair- she told herself she would grow it out, once they had reclaimed their family's honor and manor. But life always seemed to get in the way- or, rather, her bangs did. And so the ribbon lay unused and forgotten as the time flew by.

 

For three years, Marian stared at that ribbon. The one he had picked up off her dressing table as she slept, wrapped around his wrist, and promptly neglected to ever mention again.

 

She went about her life as Champion, running simple errands for Kirkwallers rich and poor, cleaning up the mess the Qunari left behind. Fenris often tagged along, lending his sword when they inevitably ran into the Carta, or slavers, or- Hawke's favorite- giant spiders. She would watch as he swung his weapon with impossible strength, and there it was-

 

A flash of red against taunt, tan skin, and it came rushing back to her.

 

_His teeth on her shoulder, fingers running down her body. His deep voice rumbling in her ear as he hovered over her. Their breath mingled in the hot, quiet air of her bedroom, and she reached up to-_

 

“Looks like we missed a few!” And she was pulled back into the fight just as quickly as she had been lost, casting spells and slashing away at the scum of the Free Marches.

 

But no matter how she tried, it always came back. Laying in her bed at night, desperately trying to remember the weight of his body on her, the taste of his lips, the way his hands ghosted over her skin, tentatively, barely touching.

 

Many things happened in those years, but she never quite moved on. She was grateful to have Orana around, if only to have the companionship of another woman after the loss of her mother. Bodahn and Sandal kept her well supplied and made sure she took care of herself, and her friends could often be found lounging around the estate. She wasn't lonely, not by a long shot.

 

But when she was alone at night, she couldn't help but think of him. She felt dirty, laying in the same bed he'd fucked her in, longing for the feel of him, on her, over her, in her-

 

_His hands gripping her hips, long, precise fingers digging into her skin. Lips running down her jaw, teeth nipping at her neck, tongue lapping at her collarbone. Her eyes were fixed on the chandelier, mind spinning as she clung to the elf with all her strength. She pulled him toward her room, a smirk growing on her lips as she climbed the stairs._

 

She told herself it was foolish. She was the bloody Champion of Kirkwall. Champions didn't have silly schoolgirl crushes on their fighting partners. Champions didn't daydream about a future where they could be together. What if someone found out? She would be a laughingstock. The mighty Champion of Kirkwall, slayer of the Qunari Arishok, lusting after the broody elf squatting in Hightown.

 

Anything else, and she was your woman, Potentially dangerous mages on the loose? On it. Oddly charming foreign assassin hiding amongst the Dalish? Consider it done. Confront one of your closest friends about a one night stand years in the past? No fucking way.

 

 

There were periods of time where he would vanish. He wouldn't be in her kitchen when she came down for breakfast, arguing with Anders in the way that was just shy of worrying her. His absence could be felt in her little band of misfits, but no one ever commented on it.

She would be lying if she had she wasn't worried about him, all alone in that decaying house. Fears over Danarius returning had quelled considerably over the years, but it was always there, nagging in the back of her mind. She found herself visiting his mansion more and more often.

 

_Her fingers gripped the sheets as his hips ground down against hers, slow and deliberate, enough to have her gasping with each thrust. She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him close to her, his teeth no doubt leaving a mark on her neck. She could feel him becoming more frantic, less calculated, as he started to lose control-_

 

Eventually came a day when the waiting game ended. He had tracked down his sister, and needed Hawke to back him up, in the not-so off chance it was a trap.

 

Which, of course, it was.

 

Hawke managed to stop him from killing his sister, if only for his own sake. She knew he would regret it later, didn't want him to live with that. Even if Varania had given him up. Marian almost wished she had let him kill her for what she had done to him.

 

 

She passed Isabela on her way in to check on Fenris- He'd needed time to calm down, and she understood. Carver may not have given her up to the Templars, but it didn't feel much better to know he was one of them. She understood the betrayal of a sibling, to be alone in the world.

 

_For days after he left, she couldn't stop thinking of it. The love bite on her neck was a constant reminder that, no, that wasn't a dream. That actually happened. But she couldn't understand why. Why had he left? She couldn't bear to see him for some time after, opting to travel with Isabela instead- all the while thankful her armor covered her neck._

 

 

_“Nothing could be worse than the thought of living without you.”_

The words echoed in her mind as she lay in his arms, a contented sigh escaping her lips. All those years, wondering why, blaming herself, dreaming of his touch- finally, they were at an end.

 

She glanced over at the elf, face peaceful in sleep. It made her smile, to see him so open- and to be able to openly take in the sight of him, sprawled across the bed, Marian tucked into his side, one arm wrapped loosely around her.

 

And on the other arm, resting on his stomach, was tied a faded red ribbon, ends frayed from years of constant wear. That ribbon that had given her such pause, caused so much second guessing, and now, all it did was take her back, three years prior, when they were so close to this happiness- they just weren't ready for it yet.

 

She knew it wouldn't be easy, what came next. A war was brewing in Kirkwall, and somehow she was always at the center of it. But Marian knew she could face it- face anything, if he was at her side.

 


End file.
